VOCALIST AMANDA CARR'S NEW CD "SOON" IN STORES AUGUST 14th
Hear Amanda on WGBH's "Eric in the Evening" on Wed. Sept. 5th at 9pm
CD Release Party at Scullers Jazz Club, Wed. Sept. 12th
BOSTON, August 13, 2007 - Jazz vocalist AMANDA CARR, whose critically
acclaimed 2005 release, TENDER TRAP, hit the Jazz Week charts and earned
four stars from All Music Guide and Jazz Review, announces the release of
her highly anticipated CD, SOON, which arrives in major record chains and
on-line stores tomorrow, August 14th, and will be distributed in over a
dozen countries, including Japan and the Netherlands.
Produced by drummer and bandleader Kenny Hadley, SOON features the stellar
rhythm section - and the backbone of the Kenny Hadley Big Band for the past
fifteen years - of guitarist John Wilkins, bassist Bronek Suchanek, and
drummer Hadley. One of New England's finest tenor sax players, Arnie
Krakowsky has been the fourth member of Amanda's quartet for the past five
years. But it's Amanda herself, with her elegant, honey-voiced phrasing,
reminiscent of the singer/goddesses of the '50s and '60s, and her impeccable
musicianship, who illuminates such classics as Tadd Dameron's "If You Could
See Me Now" and "Good Bait," Peggy Lee's "Where Can I Go Without You," Jorge
Ben's "Mais Que Nada," sung in Portuguese, and Jobim's "If You Never Come to
Me," as well as Fats Waller's "Squeeze Me" and the Gershwins' "Soon," both
featuring imposing horn arrangements and trumpet work by Rick Hammett, with
powerful support from trombonist Jeff Galindo.
Amanda will celebrate the release of SOON at Scullers Jazz Club in Boston on
Wednesday, September 12th. Tickets are available now at www.scullersjazz.com
<http://www.scullersjazz.com/> . On Wednesday, September 5th at 9pm, Amanda
will join internationally renowned jazz radio host Eric Jackson on his
program "Eric in the Evening" on WGBH 89.7fm in Boston, and on-line at
www.wgbh.org <http://www.wgbh.org/> . And on Monday, September 10th at 1pm,
Amanda will perform live with her quartet on WICN 90.5fm, on-line at
www.wicn.org <http://www.wicn.org/> .
Boston-based AMANDA CARR, who began playing piano and singing at age 5,
studied classical piano with Gerhardt Scherstedt at the South Shore
Conservatory of Music and attended the University of Lowell, College of
Music. She began her career as a vocalist, pianist, and composer in the pop
genre, but soon followed in the musical footsteps of her parents -- big band
vocalist Nancy Carr and trumpet player Nick Capezuto - to focus on fresh
interpretations of the Great American Songbook. Amanda's first jazz vocal
recording, 1997's CARR TOONS, made national news when her swinging version
of the WWII-era song "Don't Sit Under the Apple Tree" was heard in a
controversial but very popular Jordan's Furniture commercial that was a
parody of a Gap commercial (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b14iWrZROFs).
In 1998, Amanda headlined the EuroJazz festival in Ivrea, Italy, sharing the
stage with James Moody and George Mraz. The attention she received from the
Italian media prompted a return in March 1999, and LIVE IN SAN GIORGIO was
recorded and released that same year. Her eclectic album credits include
composing and performing with the late Dave Guard of Kingston Trio fame on
his final album UP & IN, and a feature on THE OLD VIENNA KAFFEEHAUS album
(the first of two, which are both documented in the Smithsonian's Folk
Archives) spotlighting New England's best folk singer/songwriters. Amanda
has been the featured vocalist with the Artie Shaw Orchestra, led by
world-famous clarinetist Dick Johnson, as well as the Harry James and Glenn
Miller bands. She is currently starring in "A Tribute to Peggy Lee and Benny
Goodman" with the Everett Longstreth Orchestra, scheduled for a national
tour in 2008.
As a composer, Amanda has received numerous awards for her work for
television, including three documentaries for PBS. She won the 1999
Videography Award for excellence in music composition and two Telly Awards
for excellence in film and video production, and she was recognized for her
thematic score for the Emmy Award-winning documentary "The Boston Red Sox:
100 years of Baseball History." Her recently released child safety project,
"Lil' Iguana - Be Smart Stay Safe Kit," consisting of a video and three CDs
of her compositions, is available on her website at www.amandacarr.com
<http://www.amandacarr.com/> .
Amanda plans to support SOON with an overseas tour in 2008-09. For a preview
of the CD, visit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7qX7aEoS8PA.
For more information, photos, CDs, or interview requests, please contact:
Toni Ballard
-toniballard at townisp.com
508-633-8583